This year’s Telecoms & Financial Services Conference took place at the Bournemouth International Centre.
For anyone unfamiliar with Conference procedure the T&FS is the policy making forum dealing specifically with matters arising in the Telecoms sector of the CWU both inside & outside of BT.
It would be unrealistic to attempt to report on all the business & I don’t intend to try, instead I’ll concentrate on the propositions put forward in the name of our Branch, as well as others, where members of our delegation made a contribution in the debates.
The subjects up for discussion were topical & wide ranging and included BT’s Pension Scheme, outsourcing, the use of agency & contract labour, bonus schemes, annual leave & pay & conditions alongside a whole raft of safety & other issues in companies outside of BT where we have representation.
CWU Deputy General Secretary Jeannie Drake opened Conference with an upbeat contribution focusing on some of the positives for our Union in the last twelve months. While recruitment continues to grow in the CWU, the fact is that we represent only about 73 thousand workers in a sector providing employment for almost a quarter of a million-still a bit of work to be done!
Some of the statistics Jeannie provided are worth a mention .The trend in the fixed line market continues to be one of decline,
however growth in the “new wave” businesses has exceeded all expectations.
Voice over IP now in over a million homes
9.8 million Broadband connections in the UK
68 million mobiles in the UK
Undoubtedly the biggest change & challenge has been the launch of Openreach and while the transitional period has been difficult it has ended, for now, the speculation on the break-up of BT.
Moving on to the Branch Propositions, Lawrie Mcmenamin successfully moved prop 61 calling for the code of practice, passed at 2005 conference, for 21st CN to be fully implemented. He also spoke on prop 42 which opposed any detrimental changes to the benefits of BT’s pension Scheme.
I successfully moved prop 51 calling for an end to the financial burden where members have to pay to park liveried vehicles in the course of their duties.
I seconded prop 104 which tackles the current difficulties regarding annual leave & seconded prop 140 at Engineering Conference which tackles the use of casual/contract labour in frames working.
Also at Engineering Conference, Tommy Creamer made a successful contribution in support of prop 147 seeking a replacement for “ stoves propane” in the field.
Wullie Crilley spoke in support of prop 47 calling for the 2007 pay claim to be “flat rate”, despite Wullie’s efforts this was narrowly defeated in a card vote.
Gary Creamer made two successful visits to the rostrum, firstly on prop 31 on the difficulties experienced by our modern apprentices and later on prop 114, calling for a reassessment of the duties carried out by our members in Openreach.
Anne Whitton our new General Telecoms Section Secretary made a successful contribution on a proposition addressing the current difficulty in Vertex.
Our delegation attended a number of fringe meetings including, health & safety & recruitment as well as the retired members section meeting.
We also attended an informative Openreach Forum presented by three Directors of the new organisation.
As I stated earlier this report only gives a snapshot of Conference business and anyone requiring further information can contact me either directly or through the Branch Office.
Finally can I thank the Branch for electing me as a Conference delegate and also thank the other members of our delegation for their support & good humour during a very busy week.
John Kelly.